Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement: 10 Years and Going Strong
This video tells the story of Stephen Miller, one of the first patients Dr. McConnell treated with the Prestige-LP Cervical Total Disc Replacement.
When Stephen was 24, he dove into a swimming pool and was temporarily paralyzed. Fortunately, his girlfriend was present and she saved his life by dragging him off the bottom of the pool.
Stephen had persistent symptoms – enormous pain and stiffness in his arms and legs – and showed signs of cervical myelopathy associated with herniated discs at C5-6 and C6-7. He was an excellent candidate for a clinical trial starting at the time for the Prestige-LP Cervical Total Disc Replacement. Stephen was one of the first patients treated by Dr. McConnell with this groundbreaking cervical artificial disc replacement.
Stephen checked in this week with Dr. McConnell for his 10-year follow-up and we’re happy to say that Stephen is doing extraordinarily well. In the video he describes his symptoms prior to receiving the procedure, and how the Prestige-LP Cervical Total Disc Replacement procedure changed his life.
The Prestige LP Cervical Disc System is an option for patients suffering from degenerative disc disease at one or two contiguous levels in the cervical spine from C3 to C7.
Symptoms of Cervical Myelopathy
Cervical myelopathy produces two types of symptoms: the ones you may feel in the neck, and the ones appearing elsewhere in the body at or below the compressed area of the spinal cord.
Neck symptoms may include:
- Neck pain
- Stiffness
- Reduced range of motion
As the disease progresses, one may experience shooting pain that originates in the neck and travels down the spine. Other cervical myelopathy symptoms may include:
- Weakness in the arms and hands
- Numbness or tingling in the arms and hands
- Clumsiness and poor coordination of the hands
- Difficulty handling small objects, like pens or coins
- Balance issues